The Divide
by Reina-183
Summary: CCSworld.SS,KF.Sakura and Syaoran are reunited, muddling through their relationship and into the world of romance when something starts happening with the Sakura Cards. Where are they going? And does it have anything to do with Fay, their new friend?
1. Suspicions

Sakura smiled, swinging her and Syaoran's intertwined fingers to and fro as she inhaled the sweet, fresh scent of the air and felt the sun by her face. It had been three weeks since Syaoran had come back from Hong Kong, and the two of them had spent nearly every day together.

Syaoran had been the perfect gentleman, always arriving early for their dates and paying for their food, but he seemed hesitant to take their relationship further than holding hands and eating ice cream together on a sunny afternoon.

It didn't help that Touya managed to trail them around town. On their second date, Syaoran had taken her to a popular restaurant only to spend the entire meal shivering as Touya cheerlessly waved a meat cleaver in their direction. Sakura was sick of it! She wasn't little anymore, and it wasn't like Syaoran was going to jump her as soon as the two of them were alone!

"Sakura," Sakura glowed as she heard her beloved's voice, "would you mind loosening your grip a bit?"

"Eh?" Sakura asked, before she looked down at their hands. She was clutching Syaoran's hand so tightly that his fingers were blue!

"Syaoran-kun! I'm so sorry!" She immediately cupped his hand, lifting it closer to her face to examine the damage. His hand looked sore, and she could see a bruise forming where she had been holding it too tightly, but other than that he would be fine.

Sakura smiled, remembering how, when she was little and she got bruises or cuts through her own carelessness, her father would gently kiss them. It would make her so happy!

Without thinking, she imitated the actions of so long ago, touching her lips to Syaoran's skin.

"S-Sakura," Syaoran turned as red as the bows in her hair. Sakura looked from him to his hand, which was still centimeters away from her lips, and back.

"Kyaaah!" She screamed in embarrassment, clutching her burning cheeks.

Syaoran, still bright red, opened his mouth to say something, but the warning bell rang with a startling finality. Syaoran and Sakura glanced at each other before Syaoran grabbed her hand and the two of them raced up towards their classroom. They couldn't afford to be late again!

* * *

Kurogane grumbled as he quickly stuffed his homework back into his book bag. The kendo club had run late again, and he hadn't had time to finish all his work the night before. Not that he really cared about school, but his mother could be scary when she was angry, and Kurogane's ear was still sore from the last time she twisted it.

Turning the corner to the corridor that held his class, room 9-A, Kurogane noticed Fay, the weird foreign kid who had transferred to their school at the end of the last term, staring out a window with a large, lopsided grin on his face.

"What're you looking at?" he asked, leaning against the opposite wall.

Fay smiled at him. "Morning, Kuro-pyon. I am watching those two." He pointed out the window to two kids, probably seventh graders by the looks of them, who were running hand-in-hand towards the school, laughing.

"Che, you shouldn't waste your time watching random kids," Kurogane informed him factually. Last year, when Fay had still been new, the teacher had assigned Kurogane to show him around, hoping that the polite foreigner would manage to instill a sense of decorum into an otherwise unruly student. Her plan had worked horribly, as Fay proved to be just as troublesome as Kurogane, despite having top-notch grades.

"But they are cute, Kuro-tan," he answered, "especially the girl in pigtails."

Kurogane shrugged, trying clutching his book bag a little tighter in an attempt to distract his anger and frustration. Ever since summer vacation, he'd gotten a funny feeling in his stomach whenever the blond boy was around him. It was a fluttery, girly feeling, often accompanied by sweaty hands and a racing pulse. And sometimes, when Fay did something he probably thought was perfectly innocent, like bending over to tie his shoelace (which came untied a lot) or stretching his arms and exposing a bit of the creamy flesh hidden underneath his uniform shirt, Kurogane's nether regions would stir embarrassingly, and he would feel hot and sweaty, and extremely hungry—only not for food.

His parents, classmates, and the internet had taught him what these feelings meant, but knowing what they were and feeling them for a classmate—a male classmate—was completely different.

"Oh, Is Kuro-sama jealous?" Fay asked, tilting his head to the side and offering up an expanse of smooth, pale skin that looked every bit as creamy as the treats him mother sometimes ate but promised to taste much better. "Don't worry. I won't go after a girl when I have you."

Fay wrapped his arms around him briefly but tightly. Kurogane caught a whiff of the fresh, wintery scent that always clung to Fay, and pushed him off a roughly.

"Stop joking around," he growled to his classmate, who laughed lightly.

"Kuro-sama's so easily embarrassed," Fay teased, pinching Kurogane's nose between his thumb and forefinger and sticking out his small pink tongue.

"Bastard!" Kurogane yelled, ignoring how the fluttering in his stomach had increased ten-fold. "Get back here and let me kill you!"

Fay was already darting down the hallway, laughter in his light eyes. Kurogane was helpless to do anything but follow.

* * *

Sakura's eyes were as wide as saucers as the teacher announced the results of the student council elections. Tomoyo smiled at her from her seat on the other side of the classroom, and Syaoran whispered his congratulations to her.

Sakura knew from her older brother that, during middle school, each student was required to be in at least one club. One class hour each day, usually right before lunch when the students had trouble focusing in academics anyways, was left aside so that these clubs could meet, and there were even days reserved after school for each club. Still, she had no idea how she could have been elected to the student council. She was only a first year, and the student council was an elite group made up of students from all three years. She hadn't met enough people to become that popular that quickly. For someone like Tomoyo, who was the lead in the school choir, it wasn't that surprising, but her, little old Sakura being sent as well?

The students around her talked to themselves, and despite her numbness, Sakura caught fragments of their conversations.

"Her older brother was quite well known—"

"—a cute girl like that, no wonder she was chosen!"

"Daidouji-chan is no surprise, but I would've never guessed Kinomoto—"

Tomoyo walked over to her desk, a wide smile on her face. A few of the cruder boys whistled at her friend. Over the last few months, Tomoyo had developed into quite the young lady, and even if it weren't for her mature figure, her long black hair and wide eyes held a certain feminine beauty to them that was undeniable. Sakura glanced sadly down at her flat chest before mentally smiling to herself. Syaoran never seemed to care that there were other girls that were more developed than her, or girls whose faces didn't have her baby fat—he was completely loyal and love-stricken, and that made Sakura feel like the most beautiful girl in the world.

Still, it was surprising Tomoyo didn't have a boyfriend. Sakura had seem many boys ask her, but Tomoyo always politely turned them away, telling them that she could never give them her heart, so she did not want to lead them on. When Sakura had asked Syaoran about it, he had turned bright red and muttered something unintelligible before telling her not to worry about it with a distant, fond look in his eyes.

"Sakura-chan, let's go to the student council meeting. It would be rude for us to be late to the very first one."

Sakura smiled up at her friend, and the two of them headed to classroom 9-D on the third floor. It was the room reserved especially for the student council.

* * *

Kurogane's head jerked towards the door when he heard the knock. Fay, who had been lying on the teacher's desk, stretched out like a tired cat, turned lazily as well.

"Aaah, those would probably be our two other members, Kuro-tan. You should get the door; it's rude to keep them waiting." He smiled and promptly dropped his head back onto his arms.

Internally grumbling to himself about lazy foreigners who used their long legs and pretty smiles to get others to do their bidding, Kurogane swung the door open to face the two other members of the student council, the secretary and treasurer.

Kurogane had been shocked when his name was announced right after Fay's. It was true that students could vote for any student they liked (whether said student asked for it or not), but Kurogane, despite being a star in kendo, did not think he was likeable enough to get the entire school on his side.

Both the girls were short; neither of them came up to even Kurogane's shoulder. He almost couldn't believe the first girl was only in seventh grade. She reeked of a maturity that reminded him of his mother and seemed polite, though the mischievous gleam in her violet eyes reminded him far too much of Fay. The second girl was the one he'd seen this morning, and she was indeed 'cute.' Even though Kurogane wanted to be angry at her, with her wide green eyes and short, kiddish hair, he found himself likening her to the little sister he never had.

"Sorry we are late," the first girl spoke, bowing her head lightly. "We got lost."

Kurogane nodded in response. Since it was the teachers who moved from period to period rather than the students, many first years did not know the building well enough to find their way around. He had never thought that was unusual until Fay had informed him that where he came from, it was the students who walked from class to class.

"My name is Tomoyo," she introduced herself, "and my adorable companion is Sakura-chan!"

Sakura blushed at the complement, twiddling her thumbs together.

Kurogane felt a sudden weight on his shoulder and wasted no time on glaring at the blond who apparently felt the need to lean on him like some sort of lamp post.

"My name's Fay. My grumpy vice-president is Kuro-chan ("Kurogane!" Said Vice-president interjected angrily.) It's an honor to be working with two such lovely girls."

Fay paused, adjusting his position so that he was leaning more comfortably on Kurogane's shoulder. Kurogane glared at him, but couldn't bring himself to push the other boy off. Fay's body was warm, and his hand was brushing Kurogane's. The cool, soft skin sent shivers up his spine; it wasn't a bad feeling.

"So I guess while we're here we should play a game to get to know each other better!" The enthusiastic president waved the two befuddled girls into the room. "Let's sit in a circle and take turns telling each other our most private secrets!"

"No way," Kurogane grumbled, shoving Fay away and attempting to retreat.

"Anyone who doesn't has to strip down to their undergarments and race through the school!" Fay announced.

Kurogane was blessed with the image of Fay in only a pair of boxers, glancing at Kurogane over his shoulder, a finger tapping the side of his mouth thoughtfully. Kurogane felt a sudden heat growing between his legs and growled.

"Idiot! Who are you to decide something like that?" he asked, grabbing a ruler to be used as a weapon. ("Kinky," the unclothed Fay in his head decided with a leer. Kurogane ignored him.)

"I am the president, which means I am in charge!" Fay announced gleefully, spinning around like a drunk ballerina.

"I'll show you who's in charge!" Kurogane yelled before raising the ruler over his head like a sword and chasing Fay between the desks.

* * *

"And then Kurogane-san chased Fay-san around the room with a ruler." Sakura related the rather bizarre incident to Syaoran while spearing a cherry tomato with her chopsticks.

"That sounds… Interesting," Syaoran responded with a smile, propping his archeology book up against the tree they were sitting under. When Sakura's father had met Syaoran (as Sakura's boyfriend instead of a bratty school boy), the two of them had had a long discussion and Syaoran had come out of it carrying six books on archeology that her father had recommended. At first his reading had been a little half-hearted, but Syaoran had quickly become addicted to her father's passionate hobby.

After all, Sakura noted, Syaoran was hardly the little boy he had been when Sakura met him. Without the pressure of spending his nights chasing the Clow Cards around, he had more time to dedicate to his studies and was an all-star student. That along with his passion for soccer, which he had picked up when he was in Hong Kong, had made him much more mature.

At times, Sakura was afraid she'd lost the Syaoran she'd fallen in love with, but then she'd look into his eyes and see the glimmer or adventure and magic, and she knew that while they'd both changed, they'd changed _together, _and that was all that mattered.

She blushed suddenly, thinking about what Fay had said to her when she'd told him about her relationship with Syaoran. _Do you kiss a lot? _

"Syaoran," she paused, trying to figure out how to bring up such a sensitive topic.

"Yes Sakura," Syaoran smiled at her, his attention focused solely on her words.

"Do you ever think about kissing me?" Sakura stared at Syaoran from underneath her bangs, hoping her face was not as red as the tomato she'd just eaten.

Syaoran blinked before blushing heavily. "Of course, all the time… Not that I'm a pervert! I mean—" he cut himself off before he said anything else, and took a deep breath. When he spoke again, he still looked as flustered as Sakura felt, but he managed to retain his composure.

"I think about it a lot," he told her, turning his face to the side, "but I don't want to… Pressure you into it. You've waited for me for so long, and I don't want to mess anything up."

Sakura's heart was beating two-hundred times a minute. She leaned forward a bit, until she could feel Syaoran's breath on her face. "And what if I told you," she took a deep breath, hoping her courage wouldn't give out, "that it wouldn't mess anything up at all?"

Their lips met timidly, and Sakura's eyes closed lightly. Syaoran's lips were warm and just a little bit chapped. She pushed her lips more firmly against his, and suddenly felt something hot and wet lick at her bottom lip. Nervous, but completely trusting in Syaoran completely, she opened her mouth to allow Syaoran's tongue access to her own.

Gently, he explored her mouth, running his tongue over her teeth. Sakura pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck and touching her tongue to his. It was hot and wet and it felt wonderful in a way Sakura had never felt before. Syaoran tasted like the chicken he had just eaten, but also something completely foreign and completely Syaoran that she had never tasted before, though now that she had tasted it she didn't know how she had ever gone without.

So engrossed was she in their kiss that she forgot the need to breath until Syaoran pulled away, smiling and blushing. Sakura took a deep breath, filling her deprived lungs with oxygen and feeling warm and tingly all over.

"Sakura!" Sakura practically fell out of her position—half on Syaoran's lap, half leaning against the ancient tree behind them—when she heard her friend Tomoyo's voice.

Tomoyo walked up to the two lovebirds, the foreign president Fay and the grumbling vice-president Kurogane trailing behind her. Kurogane was kicking a stone along, completely tuning out the world while Fay caught Sakura's eye and gave her a knowing smile.

"Fay just had the most brilliant idea," Tomoyo told her friends, though her eyes focused on Sakura, the unsaid _tell me later _floating through the telepathic line that exists between best friends. "He said that the student council should host a masked costume dance to raise money for the school!" Tomoyo clasped her hands together in front of her face, the stars in her eyes telling Sakura all she needed to know.

"Costume?" Sakura laughed apprehensively. She had a feeling that part of the idea had been Tomoyo's.

Syaoran squeezed her hand tightly. "We should talk about this later."

He nodded to the two other males, wiping the grass off his clothes as he got to his feet and helped Sakura to hers. Leaning over, he reached for Sakura's partially unzipped book bag. He picked it up, but a horribly familiar book fell out of it.

Sakura, Syaoran, and Tomoyo all watched with wide, horrified eyes as the book harboring the Sakura Cards fell.

"Got it!" Fay announced triumphantly, catching the book in an outstretched hand and handing it to Sakura.

Sakura heaved a sigh of relief, taking it back gratefully and wondering how she would have explained everything to her new friends if the cards had fallen all over the ground or accidentally activated. In the years since she had gotten the cards, Kero had been teaching her to activate them without using the full incantation. Now all she had to say was "Release!" It made things a lot quicker, but the cards were also much more volatile because of it, and sometimes they were set off by the simplest things.

Sakura's hand accidentally brushed Fay's, and a shock jerked through her body, followed by the familiar feeling of power. _What was that? _She wondered. As she hugged the book to her chest, she glanced at Fay to see if he felt anything, but he was smiling as carelessly as usual.

_It must have been my imagination, _she decided.

The bell signifying the end of lunch rang loudly, echoing through the courtyard, and Sakura hurriedly stuffed the book back into her bag.

"We should get back to class," Kurogane said in his low, rumbling voice, before turning and leaving. Fay chased after him, demanding that Kuro-pi carry him. When Fay jumped onto the bigger boy's back, Sakura was sure that Kurogane would toss him to the ground, but to her surprised the muscular upper classman looped his arms underneath Fay's legs and hauled him away as the blond laughed delightedly.

"Are those two…?" Syaoran trailed off, looking at Tomoyo. Said girl laughed lightly, shaking her head.

"Not officially, but it's only a matter of time," she answered.

"Huh? Those two? Official? What are you talking about?" Sakura asked, wide-eyed.

Syaoran took her hand in his own, Tomoyo—who through the years had grown slightly more casual—looped an arm through Sakura's free one and smiled evilly.

"Ohohohohohoho!" She laughed. "Our adorable Sakura is still too innocent to notice things of that nature!"

Sakura shrugged and decided she really didn't want to know. It was probably nothing, or the two people she trusted the most would definitely tell her. Besides, Sakura could feel Tomoyo to her left, Syaoran to her right, the Sakura cards' magic in her book bag, and the entirety of the sun and sky above her. She didn't need anything else.

* * *

Kurogane couldn't fall asleep. He tossed and turned and held his pillow to his head to block out the extra light, but it was no use. "God damn it," he muttered angrily, shoving the blankets off and storming out of the room. He lived with his mom in one of the several small, suburban houses that surrounded Tomoeda. Fay lived down the street from him, one of the many students who dwelt in the large housing development.

Kurogane was just getting himself a glass of water—people said warm milk worked better for sleeping, but Kurogane was lactose intolerant—when he saw something through the living room window. Wondering what type of moron would be out so late, especially when it was unseasonably cold outside, Kurogane moved the curtains aside a bit and stared through the blinds.

What he saw nearly made him drop his glass of water.

Fay, glowing so brightly he could be one of the stars, stood out in the street, holding a hand out to an ethereal looking girl that looked far too old and wise to be anything close to human. Fay opened his mouth, and Kurogane leaned closer to the window, straining his eyes. Fay was too far away to hear, but Kurogane had become quite adept at reading lips. It was one of those necessary skills a student had to have in order to pull off elaborate pranks during class.

"Go, Arrow," was what Fay appeared to say, and the odd creature (girl?) turned and moved away so quickly he almost didn't see it.

"What the fuck?" Kurogane swore.

Suddenly, Fay turned towards him, almost as if he could hear him, though Kurogane knew that was impossible. Kurogane ducked behind the partition between the two living room windows. He waited with baited breath until the eerie glow Fay emitted vanished.

Kurogane couldn't quite pinpoint why he was hiding; he definitely wasn't scared of Fay, but he had a feeling that both he and Fay were somehow safer if Fay didn't see him.

He had always had a feeling, from the first time Fay's eyes met his, that Fay was hiding something from him, something big. After a while nothing had happened, and he'd started to let it go, but tonight his suspicions were renewed. Taking a deep breath, Kurogane headed to bed, leaving the glass of water on the kitchen counter.


	2. Arrow

Blankly, Sakura stared at her window. Early in the night, an uncontrollable shivering had come over her entire body, despite the coming heat of spring. She'd pulled her blanket up to her chin, adjusted the heat, and even pulled on a thick sweater, but nothing could stop the aching, gnawing frigidity that had enveloped her body.

"Co-cold!" She whispered, tucking her legs under her chin and curling up into the tiniest ball possible. It didn't help; if anything, the shivering only became worst. She could barely feel her fingers or toes; her arms and legs were pinpricks of pain that burned like a thousand red hot needles, and even her chest was vulnerable to the empty, Antarctic feeling. Her stiff, sore heart pumped sluggishly, as if it were trying to push jagged pieces of ice through her body, rather than the life giving blood she needed. 

_This isn't normal,_ her body informed her with every frantic shiver. She wanted to scream, to cry out for help, but her mind was trapped under a layer of thick ice, unable to escape and properly command her body.

"Kero-chan," she tried, but her voice was softer than the weakest whisperings of wind, and her faithful friend slept on, unaware of her pain. 

"Kero-chan," her tears burned the stiff, frozen skin of her cheeks, like a wildfire unleashed upon a field of ice. "Touya, Daddy, Tomoyo… _Syaoran."_

Her conscious mind, tired from its futile struggle, finally gave in to the delicious temptation of sleep, and Sakura's eyes sank close.

* * *

If there was one thing Kurogane knew about himself, it was that he was honest, almost to the point of cruelty. Kurogane did not cut corners; he did not hide from himself or others. He was straightforward and blunt (tact, what tact?), something at which his mother always shook her head. That's why, as he stared at his water glass with suspicion and disbelief, he felt like a whiny little girl who couldn't face the truth.

That morning, he'd woken up, dragged himself out of bed, brushed his teeth, washed his face, pulled on his school uniform (Sloppily, as it was 7 am), and walked out into the kitchen, wondering about the odd dream he'd had last night.

Then he'd seen that glass, the very same glass that had been in his dream, the one proof he had that the weird, glow-in-the-dark Fay had been real. Cautiously, like a forensic-scientist at a crime scene, Kurogane approached the glass. He examined it from every angle. He took in the fingerprint on the side, the condensation that had formed around the base, and the water's lukewarm temperature, and he decided that the glass had indeed been set out last night. The fingerprint was far too large to have come from his mother's delicate hands, so Kurogane knew it was his own—unless, of course, some robber had broken into their house in the middle of the night in order to get a glass of water, but Kurogane thought that was nearly impossible.

Growling, Kurogane reached his own conclusion about what had happened. Last night Fay had sent some girl of some sort somewhere, and Kurogane, instead of confronting him about it, had run into his room and curled up into a tiny ball like a puppy with its tale between its legs.

Angered by his own reluctance, Kurogane grabbed his book bag and stormed out through the door, slamming it so hard the frame shook. He ignored a fellow student, who had waved to him from across the street, and fisted his hands so tightly his knuckles cracked.

He was a man god damn it! When he got to school, he was going to shake Fay so roughly that the lies and facades would fall to the ground like acorns in the fall. And then Kurogane would break all of them open and they would wither away into nothingness. And then maybe, when Fay smiled at him, there wouldn't be a part of Kurogane that felt that it wasn't quite real.

His frantic rampage stopped as he passed by the local electronics store. The news was airing on the television displayed in the window, which in itself wasn't unusual; however, the teenagers crowding around the shop certainly were.

"Why's everybody crowding around?" Kurogane asked a small girl with braids. She turned to him with wide eyes.

"Don't you know? There was a murder late last night, at about two a.m. It was a girl in eighth grade at Tomoeda Junior High! They haven't decided the cause of death yet, but there were lots of gouges around the area that looked like they were caused by arrows! Arrows of all things," the girl went on, ignoring Kurogane's shocked face. "Who uses arrows in this day and age?"

Kurogane ignored her. All he could think of were Fay's words from last night, and the glowing little girl with a bow in her hands.

* * *

Sakura was all alone, isolated in a blackness that almost reminded her of 'The Dark', but the horrifying, terribly cold feeling from before still haunted her heart.

"Where am I?" Her thoughts echoed off the invisible walls of her prison in a disembodied voice she could only vaguely recognize as her own.

She took a step forward and tripped, falling flat on her face. "If only Touya were here to see me," she thought, but at the mention of her brother, several images flashed through her mind's eye, as hard hitting as rocks thrown into a pond, and as lingering as the ripples left behind. Her home, her father, her brother, Tomoyo, Kero-chan, Syaoran… They all seemed distant and unapproachable, as far away as the sun. Still, the memory of them, sharp and bitter, stabbed her heart, and Sakura curled up into a ball, wailing in agony.

"Where am I?"

"Why am I here?"

"What did I do to deserve this?"

"Where is everybody else?"

"How did this happen?"

All that surrounded her was darkness and coldness. It was pure torture, leaking into her bones, her heart, and her mind. What was this place?

"Help me!"

Sakura shut her eyes as tightly as she could and prayed with all her heart for a way to leave this place. It was cold, freezing, icy cold, enveloping her, devouring her. She clutched her head, praying for something, anything, to save her.

And suddenly it was warm. 

"Sakura-chan?"

Long, pale arms reached down into the water and pulled her to the surface. Sakura gasped for air, leaning into the warm, solid presence that had saved her. Her lungs burned, and each breath felt like the first one she had ever taken. Long, thin hands rubbed comforting circles on her back, and slowly Sakura found it easier to breath.

"Where am I?" She pulled away, only to see Fay-san, the class president, looking down at her with a worried smile.

"You're in my bathroom," he told her, a bit of bemusement leaking into his calm voice. It was only then that Sakura realized that she was indeed lying in a bathtub, her pajamas soaked and clinging to her skin. Fay wore only a towel, a dark blue one that sat low enough on his waist that Sakura could see his skinny hipbones. Her head was resting on his collar bone. His skin was moist from the steam in the bathroom and surprisingly soft.

"Kyaah! I am sorry for invading your privacy!" Sakura pulled away from Fay, their closeness making her dizzy and flustered. Her sudden movement caused her to slip on the bottom of the tub, and her head slammed into the tiled wall.

"Ouch ouch ouch ouch!" Sakura complained, rubbing the sore spot. Her pain was interrupted by Fay's cheerful laughter.

"Japanese people are so funny," he explained, "worrying about manners even when they are in trouble."

Fay pulled on a fluffy white robe and unfolded a fresh towel for his impromptu guest. "You should dry off; I will get you a change of clothes, though I do not know if I have anything appropriate for a lady!"

Sakura grabbed the towel as Fay walked towards the door. Just as he was about to close it, Sakura remembered the terrible feeling of aloneness which had cloaked her in the world of misery. How had she gotten there? How had she gotten here? Sakura knew there were answers somewhere, but they eluded her unfocused mind like a clever cat eludes an angry dog.

"W-wait!" Sakura held out a hand, carefully climbing out of the bathtub. "Don't you want to know how I appeared in your bathroom?" 

Sakura slammed a hand over her mouth at that, wondering why she said something so unintelligent.

"Where I come from, there is a saying; 'some things are better left unsaid.' If Sakura-chan wishes to tell me how she ended up in my bathroom at seven in the morning then I will listen intently, but if Sakura-chan wishes to keep the information secret then we will not talk about it. Of course," Fay's eyes shone with a mischievous glint that Sakura saw frequently in Tomoyo's eyes when they passed the local fabric store, "this means that Sakura-chan will owe me as well!"

Fay closed the door lightly behind him, and Sakura smiled as she clutched the fresh towel to her cheek. Considering Fay's words, she was left with warmth in her heart and a chill running down her spine. Fay was a smart, colorful upperc lass man who seemed a little overzealous at times, but Sakura was sure that he was a kind person.

* * *

Kurogane was annoyed. Fay hadn't come to school today. He was sitting alone in room 9-D with Tomoyo, who was humming to herself as her fingers danced across the computer's keyboard. As the school secretary, it was her job to create flyers for the upcoming dance; Kurogane thought she was a little too excited for the entire thing. After all, the first thing she had done when she'd walked into the room was hold out a measuring tape and demand Kurogane's measurements.

Allowing his head to fall backwards, Kurogane peeked out the window. The Sakura trees that littered Tomoeda had started to blossom just as the school year started, and the pink flowers continued to dance on the light spring breeze. Just watching them reminded Kurogane of his childhood, when his parents would take him to the Tomoeda Central park everyday in the spring to watch the cherry blossoms bloom. They would sit underneath a tree, slowly sipping their sake, while Kurogane slid down the king Penguin and sword fought other little kids with twigs carelessly plucked from their spots littering the ground.

"Finished!" Tomoyo announced, printing off the flyers. Tomoeda Junior high considered itself a rather progressive school, and because the surrounding area was fairly well off, there was a computer and printer in each classroom for use by both the students and the teachers.

"All we have to do now is pass these out to the class representatives to hang around the school!"

The class representatives were members of the student council chosen by the teachers in each grade, based off their grades and their interactions with other students. Because these other students were usually in other clubs, they only showed up in the student council every Friday in order to keep updated and fulfill the duties the main council set up for them. There were two representatives from each class, one male and one female. Fay called them "Council members-light" or CMLs because of their limited duty.

Tomoyo stacked the flyers into six separate piles, and while she did so she asked conversationally, "so, are you going to ask Fay-san to next Satuday's dance?"

Kurogane fell out of his seat, blushing madly. "What are you talking about? Why would I ask that idiot to go out to anything?"

He tried to control his mad pulse, telling himself that dances were miserable concoctions for the lovesick and weak who tried to use the excuse of a public affair to weasel closer to each other. Besides, he didn't _like_ Fay; he could barely stand the guy. He just had a little problem where the bottom half of his body didn't agree with his mind. Just because he wanted Fay to be honest with him didn't mean he wanted to take the guy to a dance; he was just mad because Fay was a big fat liar.

"Oh, I just thought," Tomoyo tapped the side of her mouth lightly, "it would be something Fay-san would like."

The idiot probably would like it too. His eyes would get all wide and touched for a second before he hid it with a smile and said something ridiculous like 'Kuro-chan wants me to dance with him! I never knew Kuro-sama was the type who was light on his feet!' And then they'd get to the dance and Fay would lean his head on Kurogane's shoulder, and be quite for once, and Kurogane would be embarra—angered by the fact that everybody was staring at them instead of dancing like they were supposed to because it was a dance and all.

"Whatever," he grumbled, before storming out of the room and slamming the door behind him. Kurogane wanted to dream. He wanted to believe that something like that might be possible, but he had always been a realist. He was sure, at least, that Fay enjoyed the company of both men and women. His vision always turned a rather violent shade of red when he saw Fay staring at the eighth grade girls' volleyball team or the ninth grade boys' soccer team, and there was a certain amount of pride that Kurogane felt when Fay's eyes lingering on his body—not that he would ever admit to enjoying being sized up like a piece of meat in front of a hungry cat, but that didn't mean Fay would magically fall into Kurogane's clutches if he asked the other boy to dance.

Kurogane was so lost in thought that he didn't notice that he had wandered into the stair way until the boy Sakura had been with yesterday ran into him. Kurogane stumbled back a little, grabbing the rail in order to regain his balance, but the much smaller boy bounced off of Kurogane like a rubber ball, and he would've fallen down the stairs if Kurogane hadn't grabbed his outstretched arm.

"Oi. You shouldn't run down up the stairs so recklessly," Kurogane told him as the boy regained his footing.

"I apologize," the boy murmured, before he ran past Kurogane, up the stairs, and out of sight.

Kurogane took a deep breath and ran a hand through his short, spiked hair. "Whatever."

* * *

From the way Sakura had to roll Fay's jeans up four times to keep them from dragging on the floor, she had to wonder if Fay had ever been as short as her. With a sigh, Sakura tucked the baby blue shirt she was wearing into the jeans in an effort to keep the loose material from falling down around her feet. Fay's shirt fell to her upper thighs, so it didn't really matter too much, Sakura supposed, but it would be more embarrassment than she would be able to stand.

"Are you finished dressing, Sakura-chan?" Fay asked from the other side of the door. Sakura nodded, and then, remembering that Fay couldn't see her, blushed deep red.

"Yes," she called out, twiddling her thumbs while she bounced lightly on the edge of Fay's Western style bed. Fay's room wasn't anything like she expected. For one thing, the entire room was spotless in a way she thought only professional cleaners could achieve, and it was also completely dull. Instead of the cool blues and grays Sakura was expecting, the walls were painted a flat white that reminded Sakura of hospital walls. The bed frame was plain and wooden, and the mismatched furniture was worn down yet without any of the personality older pieces generally had. White curtains hid—rather than framed—the smallish window, and the only vaguely personal piece Sakura could see was a rather worn out cat plush that lay abandoned in the corner. 

The room looked rather large, but in Sakura's opinion that only added to its loneliness. Even though the sunlight came in through the window, it reminded Sakura of the cold, dark space she had been imprisoned in only moments ago.

Fay walked in carrying two large, steaming mugs with a practiced ease—no surprise because according to the gossipy eighth grade girls, Fay worked evenings at a small restaurant that served foreign cuisine. In fact, the eighth and ninth grade girls seemed to know a lot of about Fay, small things, things that didn't really matter. For instance, Fay was right handed, had trouble using chopsticks, and slipped back into an accent if it had been a long day. They knew he always arrived at school early, and that he made top grades, though chemistry and home economics were his best classes by far. A lot about nothing, Syaoran had told her when she asked him about it over the phone. That's all those girls knew. They spent so much time simply watching their ideal Fay that they missed who he really was.

As Sakura took the mug from Fay's tray, she found that she didn't envy him in the slightest for all the attention he received. She'd rather have one person know a little about her than a group of people knowing a lot about nothing. That would probably have to be one of the saddest things.

The cup smelled like heaven, and Sakura's stomach growled. "Thank you," she muttered, before taking a cautious sip of the cocoa to hide her blushing cheeks. The gleeful taste of melted chocolate, milk, and just a touch of cinnamon eased her throat and warmed the parts of her heart that had been left frozen by the dream.

"This is amazing!" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. Fay smiled at her warmly.

"It's my own secret recipe. If you would like, I could teach you," he told her, cradling his mug in both hands and leaning back into his bed post. It was weird, sitting on a bed with a person she barely knew—a boy no less!—sipping hot chocolate and exchanging personal information, but at the same time it seemed completely natural. Sakura had always been the type of person who reached out to everybody around her; she was as kind to people she had just met as she was to her long time friends. Every person she met touched a part of her heart, so near and dear to her that sometimes she felt like she might explode. She didn't know if that were a good or bad thing, if it was foolish or wise, but it was who she was, something that made Sakura Sakura. 

Fay touched a part of her heart; not the pulsing, passionate side that belonged to Syaoran, or the nurturing side that belonged to Tomoyo, or even the fond, strung together part that belonged to her family and close friends. Fay seemed to fit in her heart somewhere between the cards and Kero-chan and Yue, on the border between magic and unfamiliarity, danger and adventure.

"Yeah, that would be nice," Sakura nodded, taking another sip of her cocoa and wondering how she would explain to Syaoran and the others that she'd had a terrible nightmare, only to wake up in the class president's bathroom. 

* * *

During lunch, Kurogane casually strolled past the gates to the school. In seventh grade he had perfected the art of skipping. The whole idea was to look cool and composed, completely and utterly confident, like you knew what you were doing and had a reason to be out of class. Those people who ran for it or shifted their eyes side to side were always caught. Kurogane walked briskly, but not with panic. He had no pre-planned excuse lest he got caught; thinking too much was why most people didn't get away. As it was, nobody paid a second thought as Kurogane strolled down the street, hands stuffed in his pockets, heading towards one of the residential neighborhoods in Tomoeda.

The sun shone brightly, the Sakura petals glowed pink in the midday sun, and a light breeze rustled the grass, but Kurogane noticed none of it. He was a man on a mission. There was a dead girl lying on the street somewhere, bystanders gawking at her corpse like it was the newest fashion instead of a person who had lived, thought, and felt, and Kurogane knew it might have something to do with Fay.

Fay's house was a two-story white affair, a picket fence lining the front of the house and sleek solar paneling lining the roof. A mixture of Western traditional and scientifically advanced, it had an automatic sprinkler shower the grass while carefully hand-tended flowers bloomed under Fay's father's loving hands.

Kurogane vaulted over the fence gate and strolled up the path to Fay's house. The idiot hadn't been at school today, so this was his first bet as to where he could be. He was about to knock on the door when his cell phone rang.

Irritated, he reached his hand into his pocket, shuffling through his spare change to find his cell. Only a few people knew his number: Fay, his mother, the phone company, and the vice president of the kendo club. Of those people, the only ones who ever dared to call him were Fay and his mother (the phone company had stopped after Kurogane had issued a few creative curses). If Fay was calling him, it'd solve a few of his more outstanding problems, and if his mother was calling him he'd be an ill mannered idiot to ignore it.

"Hello," he finally answered.

Kurogane listened carefully to the unfamiliar voice on the phone, nearly falling to his knees from shock.

"I'll be right there," he promised, hanging up quietly and turning away from Fay's doorway.

His father, who had been missing for years, had just been found. Dead. 

* * *

At around noon, Sakura headed home, waving goodbye to Fay and promising to wash and return his clothes. She felt funny, wearing a pair of too large flip flops under obviously masculine clothes, but at this time of day nobody was out and about. Most men were at work and most housewives were preparing lunch. 

Sakura cautiously snuck into her house, cringing as the door shut a little too loudly. Her father would have already left for work—now that she was in middle school he no longer stayed home to see her off—but only god knew where Touya was. While he no longer had his magic powers to tell him when Sakura was out and about, his over-protective brother senses were almost just as accurate and a lot more dangerous.

She was just creeping up the stair, hopping over the second one which had developed a creek the last month, and holding her breath like a fugitive sneaking out of prison when she heard a gigantic yawn from the direction of her brother's room.

She froze like a deer in headlights, praying that maybe her brother would be too tired to notice her if she just held still. She wished she had 'the little' right now, so that she could shrink herself down to a size so small that nobody would notice her.

What she saw was definitely not what she expected. Yukito, wearing a pair of low slung pajama bottoms Sakura was ninety-nine percent sure were her brother's and a ruffled t-shirt, stepped into the hall, gently closing the door behind him. He had a kind, satisfied smile on his face, the likes of which Sakura had only ever seen after he had finished a particularly large meal.

The two eyed each other. Sakura took in the hickies dotting Yukito's neck; Yukito registered the rolled up jeans and gigantic flip flops.

"I fell into a bathtub—"

"Sakura, your brother and I—"

"And the Sakura cards—"

"Why don't we bring my other side out?"

Giant, white wings enveloped Yukito, hiding his form from Sakura's eyes, and when they fluttered away from his figure, Yue stood there, his arms folded over his chest.

"Why does it seem like I rarely have any say in our life?" Yue questioned, but there was a fondness in his voice that told Sakura he didn't mean it. Sometimes, Sakura envied those two. Most of the time she didn't; she imagined how annoying it would be to have another voice always stuck in her head (the one that appeared in hers sounded suspiciously like Kero-chan) and felt glad that her mind was her own, but sometimes, in the dead of the night, when Kero-chan was tucked away in his desk drawer and Sakura was all alone, she envied them. After all, no matter what, they would never be alone. They would always have each other. 

"Do you sense that?" Yue asked suddenly, startling Sakura out of her reverie.

"Sense what?" Sakura asked, even as she focused her senses. It took a second; nothing had gone wrong in Tomoeda lately, and as a result, Sakura had unwittingly blocked out part of her sixth sense. It felt like she was staring through a pair of blurred glasses.

Then it hit her; the magic she felt was a card, not a Clow Card, but a Sakura card. She had been ignoring the signal because she hadn't been able to sense and recognize her own power without immense concentration.

Darting down the hall and into her room, Sakura pulled the Sakura cards out of the top desk drawer. Frantically, she ran her hands through the cards. Several of them pulsed with energy, but at least ten of them felt dull—cold and lifeless like the trading cards little boys bought at the grocer's. Arrow, Maze, Mist, Light, Mirror, Voice, Erase, Earthy, Firey, and Shield were all gone. 

"Yue-kun!" Sakura shouted in alarm, but Yue's alert eyes were already scanning Sakura's room.

"Where is Kerberos?" He asked, his voice low.

Sakura gasped, pulling out Kero-chan's usual drawer. Kero-chan stared up at her with dull, lifeless eyes. Fighting back the tears in her eyes, Sakura gently lifted her dear friend from his room. His tale hung limply, his arms and legs remained in an uncomfortable sitting position. He was as stiff and lifeless as a brand new toy. 

"KERO-CHAN!" Sakura screamed.

* * *

Kurogane didn't see the body. His mother insisted that he didn't. The funeral would be small, just him and his mother and a priest to perform the final rights. And now was the painful part, the part when he had to look into his mother's eyes and know that things would never be right again. A part of his mother had broken when she'd heard the news. Her eyes, once filled with life, gleamed dully in the sunlight.

She had lived for him. Every day she had hoped he would come home. It had taken her six months to stop setting him a place at the table. She still slept on her side of the bed, left his pillow untouched, kept his toothbrush lying in its holder. His clothes were still in the drawers. His slippers still sat by the door. To her, he had wandered their house every day.

"Mother," he started, but she put a hand to lips.

"You look so much like him," she whispered, tears in her eyes. "You've grown so much and I've ignored you in favor of a ghost. He would be ashamed of me." She smiled a little to herself, a deep, intensely personal smile that Kurogane knew he would never understand. She walked towards a drawer at the foot of her bed with a grace that reminded Kurogane of her past as a priestess.

Opening the ancient, creaking drawer, she pulled out a relic Kurogane thought he'd never live to see again. A sword, with a hilt carved to the semblance of a golden dragon, stared at him from his mother's careful embrace.

"The ginryuu is hereditary. It's been passed down from father to son for over five hundred years. Now it is your turn." She held out the weapon like an offering. Kurogane took three faltering steps towards her. With a calm, strong arm—his father had taught him that he must always be in control of his emotions when he handled a sword, lest the sword controlled him—he took it out of his mother's arms.

The comforting weight was lighter than Kurogane had expected. When he was a kid it had seemed so much heavier. Kurogane's eyes traveled from the intricate sheath to the curved scabbard. Holding his father's sword in his hands, he felt closer to being complete than he ever had before.


End file.
